Kelly's Hero
by Sean Son of Athena
Summary: Kelly finally has Shepard back, after he destroyed the Reapers, and half the galaxy along with them, Shepard and her begin to form a family, but how can they survive the threats of the post war galaxy/ Rewrite, didn't like the first version. (On break until more reviews)
1. Chapter 1

"John!" Kelly called out as she sprinted across the metal deck plates of the Normandy. Commander John Shepard laid semiconscious in the med bay, a few meters away with Doctor Chakwas working tirelessly to keep him alive. Kelly tried to force her way past Ashley Williams, who stood guard over the med bay entrance. "You need to let me in there!" She pleaded as she flailed against the Alliance officer's breast plate.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Chambers, Doc says that nobody goes in until she says." Apologized the soldier holding the red haired woman at an arms length.

"Ashley, you are X.O. of the Normandy, Shepard's second in command, can't you just make an exception... for Shepard."

Williams paused for a moment."Kelly..." she placed one pf her arms comfortingly across Kelly's shoulder. "Come with me."

Kelly wanted to protest. It took all of her will not to force her way past Ashley and run to her boyfriend.

"Kelly, we need to talk." Ashley said in a calm, yet stern voice. Kelly nodded and followed her to the port observation lounge.

No chairs remained in the room, only the bar and the metal shutters that covered the Normany's broken window from the crash landing. "Okay... so, what is your relationship with the Commander?" Ashley asked as she poured two shot glasses of an Asari drink that resembled whiskey.

Kelly pushed away the drink. "You know damn well what kind of relationship me and Shepard have!" Kelly pounded the table angrily.

Ashley noticed anxiously took a shot of the drink and poured herself a second. "Kelly, I want to help you." Her hand shook nervously. "The Alliance is afraid you still have ties to a remaining Cerberus cell, I can't let you near him until I can trust you."

"So you are going to interrogate me! Is all this some charade to get me to admit to being part of some remaining terrorist cell!" Kelly was fuming now. She had only met Williams once, when she had been in the refugee sector of the wards but was already starting to seriously hate this woman.

"As a Psychologist, I'm sure you understand why we need to do this." She downed her second shot and started contemplating a third.

"You want to know who I am!" She threw her shot glass across the room and it broke with a sharp _crash_ as it struck the charred remnants of a couch. "I'm the mother of his child. Enjoy your drink Mrs. Williams, I think I'm done with this." She turned and slammed the green button on the door and exited the observation room.

Kelly took the elevator to Shepard's cabin. She noticed that her suitcase had been deposited next to the door. She grabbed the bag and entered the cabin. The room was similar to when she had been part of the crew. The only difference was the fish tank had been shattered and the Alliance Blue emergency lights formed angry blue shadows along the walls.

She flung her bag onto the bed and sat down at the desk. She had always appreciated Shepard's small habits, the little momento's that he had collected over the past two years. Half of the Commander's models had been smashed when the Normandy crashed on the garden world. She stopped at a picture of Shepard and her infront of the Normandy after the Collector mission.

"It was so much easier then..." she sighed. She remembered the first time Shepard had invited the young yeoman up to his cabin. Cerberus had brought the two of them together.

For a moment she contemplated why she had left the organization. Then she remembered. Shepard had never been exactly loyal to the Illusive Man's cause and after his mission was over he planned to cut all ties with Cerberus. He left her with two choices, him or Cerberus. She of course had chose him. But circumstance held them apart.

While he was a _guest _of the Alliance she was unable to contact him. She had stayed on Earth and kept tabs on the Commander when ever she could, but when the Reapers struck she was forced to flee Earth without her beloved John. It was only when he arrived in the refugee sector of the Citadel were the two finally reunited.

"_Kelly Chambers, please report to the med bay. The Commander would like to see you."_ Joker's voice said over the com. The piolet's voice snapped her out of her daze. She took one morelook at the picture before taking off for the elevator.

"Okay Commander," Chakwas announced as she finished her last scan. "You think you have enough strength to talk to Mrs. Chambers?"

Shepard was covered in burned blotches from the Crucible's explosion both his legs were held in casts, and had a minor concussion, but he managed a cheerful nod.

The doctor sent a message to Joker and within a few minutes the partially red haired woman entered the med bay and went directly to the Commander.

They didn't speak for a few minutes. Shepard's frail hand softly passed over Kelly's cheek. She grabbed his bruised hand and held it. Kelly gently leaned forward and whispered "I love you."

If it hadn't hurt to smile Shepard would have had a grin the size of a mass relay. "I love you too" he managed.

"When you get out of here, you are going to need to show me that apartment you talked about." She bantered. Shepard had nearly died, she was using absolutes to assure herself that he would be okay, and she knew it. "When you get out of here, I'm going to have a big... well little surprise for you okay John."

The Commander grinned. Just seeing the woman he loved, still alive after the hell they had both just gone though,made all the pain, death, and misery worth it. To be with her.

_**An/ I'm not happy with the previous version of this story so I wrote this, if its popular enoughI will continue it.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_15 years later_

As Admiral Hackett's famous speech goes; "it will take time, but we can rebuild everything that was lost." Those were the last words spoken at Admiral Anderson's memorial. Hackett had been correct. The galaxy was rebuilding, most the relays had been restored, the citadel had been returned to its nebula, but many worlds still felt the ravages of war.

Thessia had received the worst damage. The Asari, being the most technologically advanced race had been a key target for the Reapers, who tore havoc wherever they touched, left little but rubble before they were finally defeated.

Shepard couldn't help but think of all his friends on many different worlds, leading restoration efforts on their own home worlds. Then there was him and Kelly, they had rebuilt the apartment Anderson had given Shepard and made a home of it. Their fifteen year old son Kaidan and twelve year old daughter Kasha had become intricate parts of their lives.

Shepard, after fifteen years still couldn't believe that his life had changed this drastically, he still remembered the years of fighting, for friends, for family, for survival. Now here he was sitting at a desk addressing reports from N7 soldiers under his command and watching his children grow up.

"Get out of my room!" Shouted Kaidan from upstairs. Maybe grow up wasn't the right word...

Shepard closed his computer consol and headed up the stairs towards his sons room. "Whats going on now..." sighed the former commander, now rear admiral.

"Dad, she's going threw my stuff again!" Complained Shepard's son. Kaiden was similar in build to his father, only he had short red hair and a slightly narrower face like his mother. "She goes threw my stuff and hides it, tell her to stop!" He pointed to his younger sister sitting on the couch a few meters away, staring angrily at her brother.

"Let me handle it..." breathed John. "Go do your homework." His son started to protest but decided better and retreated back into his room.

Shepard sat down next to his daughter. "You know he likes his privacy." He said calmly.

Kasha frowned. "I know..." her voice seemed depressed. "I just wanted to borrow his computer interface..."

The father placed his arm warmly around her shoulder. "Why didn't you just ask?"

"Because, he was busy talking to Rachel." Shepard was familiar with her. Rachel was Ashley and James Vega's daughter. The two had been growing increasingly close over the past few weeks and he suspected Kaidan and her were dating, but wasn't quite sure.

"So, you chose to steal it?"

She looked down at her feet. "Am I in trouble?"

"Go apologize to your brother, we'll start there and see how far you get." The former commander gently pushed his daughter off the couch. "Go say your sorry and dishes for a week."

"Fine..." groaned the young girl before trudging towards Kaidan's room.

Kelly arrived home a few minutes later. She had gotten a job with the Alliance a few years earlier, thanks to Shepard, and was doing psychiatric reviews for soldiers returning from combat. She set the groceries, she had grabbed on the way home, on the kitchen table and began placing them in the refrigerator.

She was so focused on unpacking the food that she failed to notice Shepard come up behind her. He grabbed her by the hips causing her to jump.

"How was work?" He asked as he kissed her neck.

She stopped placing the groceries away and turned to face him. "Sergeant Daniel's says hi." Shepard nodded. "How are the kids?"

"Kasha and Kaidan got into a bit of an argument a few minutes ago, but other than that, they're good." Answered Shepard, letting go of his wife.

"We still on for dinner with Ashley and James later?"

"Ashley called earlier, Rachel is coming and wanted to know if we're bringing Kaidan and Kasha." Shepard took the empty grocery bag and placed it in the garbage.

"If they can behave." Kelly kissed Shepard on the lips and went upstairs to change.


	3. Chapter 3

General Oleg looked at the few operatives he had collected in the two years since his escape. Maya Brooks and Gavin Archer were to his left and right along with representatives from mercenary groups he was supplementing his "New Cerberus" army with, stand on the other side of the table.

"You all now why I brought you here." Said Oleg. He scanned the room. All of the people in the room were human, all except one. A salarian in black and yellow armor laid battered and bruised against a bloodied table. "Our good friend, Jondum Bau, has given us a very special chance."

Two mercenaries grinned menacingly at the name, probably remembering some heist that had gone wrong a few years before.

Maya Brooks took to speaking next. "As some of you well know, Bau is a specter." She reached down and pressed a button on the table. A hologram of the salarian's brain sprang to life above the specter. "Using technology we salvaged from a reaper corpse we found, we were able to implant a mind control device in Bau's brain."

Now it was Gavin Archer's turn. "We should be able to use him to get all the classified information we will ever need from the Citadel archives." He paused for a moment. "Unfortunately the implants will only work for a short amount of time before they shut down and recharge."

An Eclipse Commander named Nathan interrupted him before Archer could continue his explanation. "What is to keep him from warning the council?" Nathan scratched his brown stubble as he talked.

"As the doctor was saying before you interrupted him, he won't remember it, we're gonna leave him on Omega, Bau's a heavy drinker and probably will assume he just backed out for a few days from some Krogan Rancor" announced Oleg. "Your mission is to tail him and get inside the archives, once that is done, we will update you on your next task." He took one last look at the group. "Dismissed. Brooks have him delivered to Omega within the hour"

_An: sorry its so short, wanted this chapter to be just one scene, I'll start working on ch 4 tomorrow_


	4. Chapter 4

The two families joyfully entered Shepard's apartment. Shepard, Ashley and James recounted old stories, while Kelly fetched three glasses and a bottle of Batarian Brandy. When Kelly returned she found the other three sitting talking about when they encountered the indoctrinated Rachni.

Kelly felt like the odd woman out. She was the only person in the group that hadn't been there, sure, she had been part of the war in her own way. Feeding refugees, finding necessities for injured survivors, even provided information on Cerberus, but she hadn't been on the front lines.

"Ashley, how's the Normandy doing after all these years?" Shepard asked as he passed two glasses to the couple.

Ashley started to talk but her omni-tool blared to life, then Shepard's.

Shepard looked back at his wife. "It's from the council, Ash and I had better take this call privately." Kelly sighed and nodded. "Follow me, we'll use my office."

Not much had changed in the office over the past fifteen years since the war. The poker table still sat in front of a warm Omni-fire and Shepard's desk was covered in Alliance and Specter paperwork.

Shepard pressed a button next to the entrance and the room steeled shut with a kinetic barrier, then he walked over to the screen behind the bar. He pressed a few more buttons on his omni-tool before the Asari councilor appeared on the screen.

"Hello Shepard, Mrs. Vega, I apologies for disturbing both of you this evening." Confessed Liara. "I need you both to meet me and the other councilors in private immediately."

"What ever you need Liara, where will we be meeting?" Asked Ashley.

"The human Councilor's office, you remember were it is?" Both humans nodded. "See you there." Promised Shepard.

* * *

><p>"Good to see you Admiral!" Announced The Turian Councilor as Shepard and Ashley entered the room. The new turian councilor had golden face paint that almost depicted one of earth's eagles.<p>

"Good to see you too, Councilor Tevos." Said Shepard calmly as he shook his taloned hand. Shepard looked around the room and the only other people in the room were Ashley and Liara. "Where are the other two Councilors?" Asked Shepard.

"We would like to keep the involved goverment's in the dark about this information." Announced Liara cautiously. "I understand you have met Jondum Bau?" Shepard and Ashley both nodded. "Well, he was looking into the escape of Maya Brooks and General Oleg."

"When did Brooks escape!" Seethed Ashley.

"A month ago." Answered Tevos. "We didn't tell you _because _of your past involvement with both of the escapees. We feared that they would have you both under observation."

"So we sent Bau." Liara interrupted.

"You couldn't at least warn us!" Now Shepard was angry. "This is the kind of crap the illusive man would have pulled! You put our families at risk."

"I'm sorry Commander, I wish we could have, but we couldn't risk it." Apologized Liara. "Back to why you two are here. Bau was on Omega when we lost contact with him."

"Maybe he was really close to his target and couldn't risk blowing his cover?" Interrupted Ashley.

"No, he was on his way to follow a different lead on Ferros, he disappeared for three days."

"So you've found him?"

"He showed up in a bar in one of Omega's lower bars, he has since returned to the Citadel."

"Then why are we here?" Asked Shepard.

"I need one of you to take a team and continue Bau's search."

Before Shepard volunteered, Ashley spoke. "I will take the Normandy to Ferros, give me all we have on Brooks and Oleg."

"With all due respect, I should go." Shepard turned to his fellow Specter, "I have seniority, I should be the one to go."

"Sorry Shepard." Answered Liara, "It is best if we send Ashley, you can aid her in her search from here, and you will be informed of anything we learn."

The two councilors dismissed them a few minutes later.

After Shepard and Ashley entered the cab that they would take home Ashley turned to Shepard. "I need you to take care of Rachel while we're gone." Shepard turned to her questioningly. "I'm taking James with me."

"If you want someone to have your back, just ask me to go, I'd me more than willing." Shepard requested as they left the presidium and headed towards the wards.

"No, if we both go it will draw too much attention." Informed Ashley. "Just promise me you'll take care of her until we get back."

Shepard sighed. "Fine, I'll take care of your daughter for you." The cab stopped near Ashley's apartment. "Just make sure to come back, or I'll have to come after you." Ashley nodded and turned toward her apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

Rachel was sitting on her computer talking to Kaidan when Ashley got home. She quickly said bye to her boyfriend and closed the channel before her mother entered the room.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Asked Ashley as she sat down on her daughter's bed.

"I couldn't sleep, wanted to be sure you were coming home tonight." Answered Rachel as she pushed back her blonde hair and leaned back on her chair. "What did the councilor want?"

Ashley grinned. She leaned forward and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Nothing that you should bother yourself with. Your father and I are just going to go on a trip for a few weeks."

"Can I go with you?" Asked Rachel as she turned her chair so she was facing her mother.

"Sorry honey." Ashley stood up and walked towards the door. "You'll be staying with Shepard and his family until we get back. Good night Rachel."

The fourteen year old sighed. "Fine, night mom."

/\/\/\

The next morning James, Ashley and Rachel stood outside Shepard's apartment. James pressed the door bell and a few minutes later Kelly was at the door. "Morning Kelly, I'm sorry we had to drop this on you so quickly." Apologized James.

"Its fine, she's welcome to stay here as long as she needs." Answered the red haired woman. "John told me last night. Can you give me a time frame on when you'll be back?"

James began to answer but Ashley interrupted him. "We don't know" she answered quickly. "We'll send you a message when we know."

Kelly detected a hint of hostility in her voice. 'Maybe she still holds a grudge from almost getting her filed under psychiatric leave' thought Kelly.

Ashley hugged her daughter. "I won't be able to call, so stay safe for me will you?" Her daughter nodded and entered the apartment. Next Ashley turned to her husband. "We need to get going, the Normandy is leaving in an hour." James sighed, grabbed his duffle bag and followed her away from the apartment.

Kaidan smiled as Rachel entered his room and sat down on his desk. "Good morning." She said as she kissed him. "What you working on?"

"Homework for Mr. Kennedy's history class." He answered as he returned to typing on his computer. "Its due tomorrow and I've been putting this off for a week."

"Oh come on Kaidan, I want to do something fun!" She stood up from the desk and threw him his coat. "Lets go to the arcade on the strip or something."

"Can it wait for a bit, I'm in the middle of this." He asked. "I'm sorry, I just need to finish this, an hour. Tops."

"Fine..." she sighed. "I'm going to go see what your sister is doing, tell me when you stop being a stick in the mud."

"Fine, lets go." Gave up Kaidan. "I could use some fresh air anyway." He grabbed his jacket and slipped it on. The couple made their way down stairs.

Kelly was laying on the couch reading some thing. "We're going out for a bit." Kaidan called as they approached the door.

"Be home by four, your father wants to talk to you." Ordered Kelly looking up from the Latest Alliance Network news.

"Yes Mom..." Kaidan responded as he and Rachel walked out the door.

_An: woooh! 3 chapters in a week, lucky you!_


	6. Chapter 6

Commander Nathan polished his bright yellow eclipse armor as he watched Jondum Bau through his computer screen. Nathan chose this apartment because it had been constructed a few decks above the archives. The room was covered in different computers and monitors that had either been linked to Bau's implant or were hacked into C-sec communications.

The only other person in the room was Gavin Archer. Archer wore his usual green lab coat. "Nathan, I need you to contact Oleg, the Normandy has just left dock." Archer ordered as he turned away from his consol.

Nathan stood up and walked over to the micro-quantum-entangler, otherwise known as MQE on the opposite side of the room. The device sat on a metal desk and was shaped like a coned cylinder with green tubes that span the height of the device.

The device was only a prototype and could only "dial" its counterpart in another system. Nathan pressed a switch on the device and a blue holographic fog blinked into existence above the comes point. A few moments passed before Oleg's form replaced the fog. His avatar stood a foot tall and would sometimes flicker. "Is everything proceeding as planned?" Asked the Cerberus head.

"Yes sir." Nathan's Hispanic ancestry came out in his accent. "Bau is on his way to the archives and the Normandy has just shipped out."

"Got ya, we'll be ready for 'em." Answered Oleg casually. "Proceed with the next step of the plan." Oleg ended the call and the MQE shut down with a dull hum.

Nathan switched the device to local call. It took him a minute to remember the number but it finally went through.

~~~•••~~~

Shepard had left for his evening run and Kelly stood in the kitchen chopping carrots. She enjoyed moments like these. It made her feel normal, story book normal. Like she was part of one of the holo-vid families she watched on the T.V.

Kasha was sitting at the dinner table across the room playing with her omni-tool. Kelly loved her daughter to pieces, but had to remind her that she was still grounded from stealing from her brother, and told her to turn the game off. "How about you help me cook dinner?"

Kasha groaned and placed the omni-tool back in her pocket then continued to tie her dark red hair back in a pony tale before joining her mother. "Mom, how did you meet Dad?" She asked as she waited for her mother to assign her a task.

Kelly didn't look up from the table but she did answer. "I was his assistant on the Normandy before he rejoined the alliance." She picked up the chopping board and dumped the chopped vegetables into a boiling pot and told Kasha to start dicing the pork.

"So you were with Cerberus?" Kasha grabbed the meat out of the fridge and started slicing it.

"How did you know your father and I worked with Cerberus.?" Kelly had never mentioned her previous occupation to either of her children.

"The teachers talk about dad a lot in school." Answered Kasha. "But they never mentioned you, not very much."

Kelly felt a little bit of her ego die. She had thought she had been at least a little more important than a footnote in a text book. Even Jacob had been made famous by his part in the war effort. Kelly made a goal not to let it get to her, she had married Shepard and that's what counted. "Well, when people talk about your dad or I, remember that we were very different then most the people that were with Cerberus, now and then."

"What was Dad like back then?"

Kelly, now done with preparing the meal and now waiting for it to finish cooking. She pulled herself onto the counter and thought for a moment. "When I first met him I thought that he was too good to be true." Chuckled Kelly. "I had been wrong, he was kind, compassionate and above all, very flirty."

"Really?" Said Kasha surprised.

"Yes, at first it was just fun, I asked him to call me Kelly, he obliged, he'd walk by and I'd make him jealous by telling him I thought a new crew member was attractive and he'd tell me I was more attractive." She could feel herself blushing. "Then he invited me to dinner in his cabin, I knew then that I truly loved him."

"That's a lot less romantic than I thought it would be." Kasha was now sitting on the opposite countertop.

"Well we didn't start dating until later." Explained the mother. "When the collector's boarded the Normandy, while Shepard was on a mission. They put all the crew members, including me, in stasis and loaded us onto their ship."

"How did you escape?"

"When your father found out that we had been kidnapped, he took the Normandy through the Omega relay ahead if schedule." Kelly shivered gravely. Her memory of being frozen inside the incubation pods, not being able to move, but still conscious was burned in Kelly's brain. "Shepard arrived just in time to save me before I… I don't even want to think about what would have happened."

"When did you start officially dating?"

"Well, after the Collector mission we had a minor fling, but he returned to the Alliance and I went into hiding." She answered. "We met up again on the Citadel a year later and became official."

"Wow Mom, you two really have been through hell together."

"Yeah, he's kind a been my Hero." She chuckled imagining Shepard in bright steel armor riding a horse. She heard a chirp come from the office. "I'l be back, I think I heard the phone."

Kelly hopped off the counter and strolled into the back room.

The walked up to the consol, a bright green blinked below the screen indicating a call was waiting.

She tapped the answer button on the key board. The screen switched to a grainy black. "Hello Mrs. Shepard." A crackly voice announced through the speakers. The voice sounded a little supervised that it had been her who answered. "We planned to do this through your husband, but this will work even better. Close the door, if you want to avoid trouble, you will need to do as I ask."

Kelly pressed a button on the wall next to her and the entrance sealed.

"Good, I represent a party that has invested interest in _gaining entrance _to the... never mind, the point is." The voice made her feel uncomfortable. Menacing. "We need Specter authorization and the codes we have will eventually lead back to us."

"Let me guess." Kelly knew she was gambling when she spoke. "You're with Cerberus, you want John's Specter code."

"You're smarter than we give you credit for." Chuckled the voice. "Transmit the code to this frequency." A series of numbers flashed across the blank screen and Kelly jotted them down on a piece of paper. "If you tell anyone, well, just leave it to say that your fiends won't be coming back and your family will all come to a tragic end."

Kelly could hear Kasha knocking at the door.

"You have been warned." The call ended and the screen returned to its natural orange.

Kelly sat in the desk chair for a few moments motionless. How could Cerberus be hart less enough to blackmail her into betraying her husband.

"Mom, something wrong?" Asked Kasha's voice through the door.

"Everything's fine sweetie." She lied as she unlocked the door. "Go set the table, I'll be out in a minute."

_**An/ sorry I took so long, had a bad case of writters block.**_


	7. Chapter 7

It was now six and John, Kelly, and Kasha sat at the dinning room table eating dinner. Shepard was fuming that his son hadn't came back yet. Kelly had assured him that Kaidan and Rachel were probably caught in traffic or something. That did little to calm the biotic's nerves.

Kasha tried a couple of times to start a conversation but her father was too focused on Kaidan being late and her mother seemed distracted with her own problem. "Can I go eat in my room…" she gave up.

Shepard nodded and his daughter grabbed her plate and exited the dinning room. He waited until she was out of ear shot. "Maybe I should go look for him. Rachel and him aren't answering my calls."

"He'll be back soon, you're worrying too much." Answered Kelly. She was having an extremely difficult time withholding information from the man she loved.

"No, I'm going to go find him, its been two hours since you told him to be back."

She sighed and nodded. She felt a pit in her chest and every time she spoke to her husband tendrils of guilt burrowed deeper into her consciousness. "Okay, but go easy on him."

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass him." Answered Shepard standing up from the table. "Not too much." Maybe embarrassing him in front of Rachel would teach him to do as he was told. Kelly watched him as he marched out of the room.

Now that Shepard was out of the room she had the ability to think. What was the worst that would happen if they didn't receive Shepard's code? They threatened Ashley and James. Could she live with herself if they died? What about her family, they threatened the lives of her children and husband. She had to give Cerberus what they wanted. There was no way that she would risk the lives of her children simply because she felt like she was betraying her loved ones.

She stood up and left the room without cleaning up the remains of dinner, she would have Kasha do it later. She made her way to the second floor and found Shepard's weapon locker. He kept his combat omni-tool inserted in his gauntlet.

She removed the interface from its slot and slid it into her pocket. She swore that she would make it up to Shepard when this was over. Kelly found her way back downstairs and inserted her husbands omni-tool into into the computer. She found Shepard's code and entered the frequency she had been given before transmitting the code.

No matter how guilty she felt, to her it was better than losing the people she lived. She solemnly closed out the console and left to return John's omni-tool to it's home.

~~~•••~~~

"Dads gonna kill me." Announced Kaidan as he and Rachel exited the arcade. Rachel had been the one who decided to stay at the arcade past four, now Kaidan was going to be the one who paid for it. "I'm going to be scrubbing the floors for a month, I know it."

"Call down Kay." He called him that whenever he would be nervous. "He'll just be a little mad." She curled her fingers into his shaky hands.

"No, he's going to be more than "just a little mad." He answered nervously. "He'ss going to be madder than a raging krogan."

"You're over rea-"

I stern hand landed harshly on Kaidan's shoulder. He grabbed the hand and pulled it forward in an attempt to use one of the self-defence tricks his father taught him. The arm was to strong for him. He lost his footing and fell face down on the ground.

Rachel knew who it was and didn't interfere.

"Kaidan, where have you been!" Seethed Shepard''s voice. "We told you two to be back two hours ago."

"I - I'm sorry, we were on our way ba-" Kaidan tried to explain.

"Mr. Shepard, it was my fault, I talked him into staying longer." Intervened Rachel. "We were having such a good time, we were coming back when you found us."

"You should have called then, we probably would have said okay." Shepard calmed down a little, but still felt a little betrayed. "Instead, you two ignored our calls and you betrayed our trust."

"We didn't hear them, it was too lou-" a loud _boom! _sounded through the lower levels of the ward.

Shepard pulled his son to his feet. "Get back to the apartment, I need to go see what just happened!" Ordered Shepard. They could hear the sound of gunfire echoing through the station. His son started to protest. "Get back home now! Tell your mother to not let anyone else in the house until she hears from me."

Rachel grabbed Kaidan by the arm. "I'll make sure that she gets the message sir." She pulled Kaidan by the arm and they both took off down the panicked streets.

Shepard had to force open one of the emergency tubes to descend to the lower level of the ward. He didn't have a gun, no armor, not even his omni-tool. The only real weapon he had was his biotics. More gunfire sounded just beneath him. He let go of the ladder and let the gravity speed his descent.

When the tube opened out into a skylot he used his biotics to slow himself down, a trick he learned from Liara. Now he knew were the gunfire was coming from. The archives. He sprinted down the open lot towards the high security zone.

C-sec cars had already formed a perimeter around the facility. "Admiral Shepard!" Announced a familiar voice that was waving to him from the cover of a C-sec car. Shepard looked to see Commissioner Bailey waving to him franticly. Shepard sprinted and joined his friend behind the car.

"What's going on here?!" Asked Shepard. A second explosion rocked the deck and a large crater broke free from the cylindrical archive building and smashed into the ground.

"I thought you would know, you were in there after all." Answered the elderly cop. Bailey's hair had receded and had grown a beard in an attempt to compensate for his loss of hair on his head. He held an M-8 assault rifle and had a T- 27 ballistic pistol at his hip.

"No, I was on the strip." Shepard gave him a confused look.

"Your specter code was used to access the archive four minutes before the explosion." Bailey was just as confused. "Does anyone else know your code?"

"Only the council and I have access to it, there must be some kind of mistake."

Shots riddled the vehicle they were using for cover. Shepard raised his biotic barriers and his skin shimmered in the blue static. "Do you have any clue who's in there?" Then a small gun ship appeared above them and landed inside the cratered building.

Shepard braved a peek over the car. Six soldier's in pitch black armor climbed on board the gun ship before their transport took off again. Shepard was able to get off a few warps before they got away and even combined with the fire of the C-sec officers, the vehicle still got away with little more than a scratch.

"Commissioner, I want copies of all the records of this incident sent to me." Ordered Shepard.

"I'll send them as soon as I get back to headquarters, I recommend you wait until my men have cleared the building before you leave." Shepard shook his head.

"I need to borrow one of your cars."

"Will I get it back?" Shepard gave him a chuckle and Bailey motioned to his officers to move forward.

_An/ the main reason I'm writing so many chapters right now is because of a fanfiction competition I've entered by Mass Effect: Dark Skies, go give 'em a read.t_


	8. Chapter 8

"Kaidan!" Screamed Kelly as she opened the door for her son and his girlfriend. "Where's your father?!" She locked the door behind them. The sound of alarms and gunfire was still blaring throughout the ward.

"He told us to tell you to lock the door and wait until he called." Answered Rachel. She could tell her boyfriend was nervous about losing his farther so she held his hand tighter to reassure him.

"But where is he?"

"He's probably at the explosion site by know." Answered nervously Kaidan.

"Okay, Rachel, go to the back room." Ordered Kelly pointing to Shepard's office. "Kaidan, go get your sister and join Rachel, I'm going to finish locking up."

She watched the two teenagers split directions before she closed the metal shutters on the windows, turned off all the lights in the house and ran up stairs to Shepard's locker. Grabbed Shepard's Predator Pistol and his M-7 assault rifle. Then ran down stairs to join the children.

She walked in to see Kasha crying in her brother's arms. It hurt to see her children that way. Kaidan was shaking nervously. Kelly knew the only reason he wasn't crying too, was because Rachel was next to him.

Kelly was surprised. The fourteen year old girl was the most composed of the three. Rachel had stood up when Kelly entered the room. "Mrs. Shepard, is there anything I can do?" She held Kaidan close to her.

Kelly set her pistol on the bar next to her. "Stay back there." Answered Kelly. She walked up to the T.V. screen and turned it on.

"- sec officials are claiming the raid to be the work of a Batarian terrorist organization." Announced the news reporter. "A lone Batarian body found at the blast sight supports these assertions." Continued the female reporter. "Last our sources heard, a lone C-sec shuttle has been seen chasing the fleeing suspects through Zakara ward." Video of a dark blue shuttle appeared on the screen racing after a gun ship.

Kelly's thoughts raced. Was she responsible for the explosions? How many peoples lives had been lost because she had sent Shepard's code? She slammed her fist down on the bar. It had been her fault people died that day, at least as far as she was concerned.

"There are four confirmed casualties, and three unconfirmed casualties, among them, John Shepard, whose authorization code had been used just before the explosion rocked the archives."

The reporter only confirmed her suspicions, Shepard hadn't been in the archives during the explosion, but his code had been used and Cerberus had gotten what they wanted. Kelly turned the screen off.

"Mom, they're wrong!" Yelled Kaidan. "Dad was will me during the explosion."

"I know Kaidan, I know."

~~~•••~~~

"How far behind is the shuttle?" Asked Commander Nathan as he began powering the gun ship's turret.

The pilot pressed a switch on the sensor screen. Both of the vehicles had been weaving through the station for the past thirty minutes and Nathan was begriming to get frustrated.

"Forty meters." He answered. "We should lose him in the next few minutes."

"Good." Grinned Nathan. He turned the turret so it faced backwards. "I'll lose him now." The Cerberus mercenary pulled the trigger and fired on a hanging bill board. The board broke apart just in front of the shuttle and forced it's pilot to bank left down an alley, giving the mercenaries enough time to escape. "Okay captain, lets pick up Archer and get off this station." The vessel pitched left.

Nathan climbed out of the gunner seat and went to the back of the cabin, where his men were. "How's Bau?" He asked as he kicked the salarian's unconscious body.

The squad's medic stopped his scan and turned to the commander. "His implant's overloaded." He answered before reviewing the scan results. "But I think he'll live."

"Good, Oleg wants to run some more intelligence raids." Grinned Nathan. "What about the archives? Where you able to get what we needed?"

"I have capsule." He answered. "Don't you think that Oleg's being a little extreme though? It feels more like petty revenge than strategic."

"Orders are orders." Shrugged Nathan. "At least we're getting paid." The gun ship halted mid air and started to descend. "So as soon as I get my pay check, I'm out of here no matter what Oleg tries to bribe me with." Nathan spat as the rear ramp opened.

_An/ this chapter makes me nervous because of its shortness but I hope you like it, please review, as a reminder, you dont have to log in to leave a review._


	9. Chapter 9

"Damn it!" Cursed Shepard as he rounded the corner. "Where did they go?" He searched the area for the next hour as he resigned to the fact that the mercenaries had escaped. He turned the shuttle in the direction of his apartment. Commissioner Bailey would have to retrieve the vehicle himself, he needed to check on his family.

He called Kelly using the shuttle's com. unit. She answered almost immediately. "John!" She cried. "Was that you chasing after that gun ship?"

"They got away." Answered Shepard. "Did Kaidan and Rachel make it home?"

"They're right here." She shifted the screen so it showed the three kids. "They think you were in the explosion."

"Don't worry, I wasn't." He stopped talking for a moment. "Bailey will sort that out. He told me someone used my specter code, that might be why they think I was there." Shepard noticed Kelly grew uncomfortable. It seemed strange, she couldn't know anything about his code, probably scared for husband's life. "I'll be home soon, it should be safe now for you to put my guns away now." He motioned to the rifle that she held in her left hand.

She nodded with a soft chuckle. "See you soon honey."

"Love you." Shepard closed the channel.

~~~•••~~~

Shepard unlocked the door to see his wife in the door way. She flung her arms tightly around him and Shepard held her against his chest.

"I thought you were done with fighting." Kelly breathed. "The minute I let my guard down you go running into a fight."

"I know." Was all he said.

"Are you okay?" Her hands passed over him looking for injuries, bullet holes, burn marks, anything.

"I'm fine Kelly." He said soothingly. Shepard looked over Kelly's shoulder are his redheaded son stairing at him from the second floor.

"Kaidan, go get a sleeping bag, you're on the couch." Ordered Shepard. He hadn't forgiven his son entirely for being late getting home, but didn't want to ground him because of the bombing, so he wasn't punishing the boy. "Rachel gets your room."

Kaidan nodded. "Dad, I'm sorry for not calling."

"I know you are." Shepard watched his son disapear around the corner. "Where's Kasha and Rachel?"

"Rachel's with Kasha in your office." Kelly breathed. "Kasha was worried about you."

"I'll go talk to her."

"Okay honey, see you in bed." She spoke with a seductive tone that drove Shepard crazy. She kissed him before sauntering toward the stairs.

John had to snap himself out of his glaze. He sighed and strolled to the room at the back of the apartment. The two girls sat around the poker table playing with a deck of cards.

As soon as Kasha saw her father she dropped her cards and hugged him. "Hey Kash." Shepard picked her up and placed her on the bar. "What you two been up to?"

"Rachel was teaching me to play Skylian five." Cheered Kasha.

Shepard chuckled, his daughter seemed to not be as concerned as he thought. "Kasha, could you go to bed? I want to talk to Rachel." He ruffled her long red hair. "I'll be there in a minute." Shepard watched as his youngest child walked out the room.

Shepard sat in Kasha's abandoned chair. Rachel seemed a little nervous. "Don't you _ever betray _my trust like that again." Shepard's tone wasn't angry, he was disappointed and stern. "I think over all, you are good for my son, but keeping it secret about you two dating, yes I saw you two holding hands, and then you talk him into staying out past your curfew. I won't be able to trust you two alone for a long time."

Rachel nodded. She was afraid to speak and was tapping her foot nervously. "I'm sorry for everything." She answered sheepishly. "I- I do want you to trust me with your son."

"You can start by being home on time after school."

"Yes sir." The way the girl answered reminded him of Ashley when he met her on Eden Prime. "And… Mr. Shepard, I want you to know that I highly respect you, and you're the reason I want to be in the Alliance."

"Thank you." He grinned at the compliment. "Kaidan's giving you his room so you'd better get going, lights out in twenty." Rachel stood up and gave him a mock salute and marched upstairs. "That girl's going to go far in the military." He joked with himself before leaving the room.

Kasha had already curled up in bed. The young girl rested on her side asleep under the covers. She seemed so innocent, Shepard was happy for her. He had grown up on Earth. Shepard had never met his parents, survived on the streets with the gangs and crime. The only reason he was alive was because he enlisted in the Navy the day he turned eighteen.

He stood in the doorway watching his daughter. "Goodnight Kasha." He whispered as he shut the door behind him and headed up stairs to join his wife in bed, he just hopped she hadn't started without him.

_**An: Hey guys! Please leave a review, ideas, pointers, pointing out errors, anything helps! Guests can review too! No account needed!**_


	10. Chapter 10

A loud, frantic nock banged on the door startled Kaidan from his sleep. He clumsily rolled off the couch, banged his knee on the coffee table and quickly limped to the door. He pressed a button on the screen next to the entrance.

A dark skinned woman with dark hair that was cut just above her shoulders. "Let me in now!" She pleaded, her British accent resonated over her frantic tone. "I need to speak to the Admiral!"

"I- I don't know you, Dad doesn't let random people in." Answered Kaidan apologetically.

"Samantha Traynor!" She answered. "Go get him, its urgent."

Kaidan nodded and took off upstairs. His parents room was closed so he knocked. "Dad, a woman named Samantha is looking for you." He waited a moment.

"Tell her it can wa- wait, she was assigned to the Normandy." Kaidan could hear his parent shuffling around their room. "I'll be right down, go let her in." Kaidan ran down the stairs quickly to let the woman inside.

John and Kelly came down stairs a few minutes later, to see Samantha sitting on their couch. The woman seemed frightened. Shepard noticed her Alliance blue uniform had been torn from the right shoulder and down her arm. Her pants were coated in oil and other less desirable liquids.

The couple sat on the opposite couch. "What's going on Sam? Where's the Normandy?"

"Gone, Soldiers disabled us at the relay." She answered. Kaidan came back with a glass of water and the woman downed it in one, frantic gulp. "We dropped out at the relay, they hit us with some sort of EMP before we could raise barriers or weapons."

"How did you get away?" Inquired Kelly calmly.

"I- Edi got me to an escape pod." She answered. "She and Joker were caught climbing in, she launched the pod before they saw me." Kelly watched the woman carefully, analyzing how frightened she was, how she could calm her down. "I took the pod through the relay and came out here."

"Did anyone else make it out?" Shepard asked. What if Ashley didn't make it, or James? What would happen to their daughter if they were dead?

Traynor didn't speak, only shook her head solemnly. "When I came back through the relay, no one followed."

"We need to tell the council then." Shepard began. "If the Normandy has been destroyed, they will-" Shepard's omni-tool bleeped. The new mail icon appeared and he opened it.

_Breaking News_

S.S.V. Normandy destroyed? C-sec has found what appears to be an abandoned escape pod from the Alliance frigate earlier tonight. The vessel had been deployed by the council on an undisclosed mission, and is now thought to be abandoned or destroyed. C-sec suspects the Alliance officer and X.O. of the vessel, Samantha Traynor of being responsible for the destruction of the vessel.

Suspect was last seen fleeing an escape pod before it was secured by C-sec officials. Sources link her to Cerberus, a human terrorist group that has seen resurgence in recent years. Reward has been posted for any information leading to the arrest of individual.

~Diana Allers, Citadel News Post.

~re-sent from: Liara T'soni, this can't be right, I know she'll go to you, keep her safe, I'll keep Bailey off your trail. Do what you need to do.

"They're wrong!" Blurted out Samantha. "I'd never work for Cerberus!"

"Calm down Sam, we'll get this cleared up." Soothed Kelly. "You can stay here until we know whats going on."

"Thank you ma'am."

"You can use our shower to get cleaned up." Spoke Shepard. He pointed to the bathroom down the hall. "Kelly will bring you a clean set of clothes." The woman thanked them both again and limped down the hall.

"I might need a tooth brush. You do still owe me for the last one." Samantha joked as she closed the door behind her.

A moment later Kelly returned alone and sat with her husband on the couch, then told her son to go into the back room so that the couple could speak privately. She couldn't take the guilt anymore, first the attack on the archive, now the Normandy.

"John, you love me right?" She could feel her own heart breaking as she spoke. "

"Of course Kelly, you know that." He tried to place a hand on his wife's shoulder, but she pulled away guiltily. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I'm why the archives were attacked." Kelly admitted before jerking further away from Shepard. A confused, heartbroken look grew across Shepard's face. "I gave Cerberus your specter codes." She hated it, hated what she did, that she was saying it, that she had betrayed her John. "I'm so sorry."

Shepard didn't know how to react, he was angry, he knew that, but there was more. "Kelly..." He breathed. "How could you?" He couldn't face her.

She understood his reaction, dry, distant, almost in shock. Her psychiatric training analyzed it in moments even if she didn't mean too. "I did it to protect you, the kids, our friends." She answered. Kelly was now in tears, but she knew she couldn't go to John, not now. "They called looking for you." She continued. "But when I answered, they took it to their advantage and black mailed me."

"Kelly... you should have come to me." Answered Shepard planting his face between his hands. "I would have helped."

"They threatened to kill you!" She blurted out louder than she meant. "Ashley, James and the kids too! I had no choice." Kelly felt disgusted with herself, how did she know that Cerberus wouldn't kill them anyway. "I didn't know what to do." She closed her eyes and a tear rolled softly down her cheek until a rough, calloused hand whipped it off.

She opened them to see Shepard sitting next to her with his finger wet with her tears. He didn't speak, only pulled her into a tight embrace, running his rough hands through her red hair. "It's okay." He soothed. "I can keep them safe, we'll find James and Ashley and get them home, nobody else is going to die."

Kelly nodded solemnly and positioned herself so she layed against his shoulder, giving her a sense of protection. She knew she would have to work extremely hard to regain his trust, but it helped to know he still loved her even if she betrayed him. Shepard kissed her softly and she fell asleep in his arms, emotionally exhausted, moments later.


	11. Chapter 11

Shepard waited until Kelly had fallen asleep, before he gently lifted his wife off his lap and onto the couch. "Kelly, I can't believe you didn't tell me, you had every opportunity." He whispered more to himself than to the middle aged red head. "I know you did it to protect the kids, but I could have helped." He knew he was angry, but there was more to his emotions than that, he wasn't angry with her. It was directed at Cerberus, and he planned for them to know it.

He quietly marched over to the bathroom that Samantha was using. "Traynor, when you are done in there, meet me upstairs." He ordered after knocking on the metallic door.

"Got it comma-Admiral." She answered through the noise of running water. "Can I ask why?"

"Just hurry up Sam." Answered Shepard, turning around and entering the kitchen. A green stack of sticky notes rested on the kitchen table. He pulled one off and took out a pen from one of the drawers.

_**Kelly~**_

_**Samantha and I are leaving, I won't tell you where. I'm sure you can figure it out. The reason I'm not telling you is because I'm afraid you'll reveal me to Cerberus, I don't blame you, the kids are more important.**_

_**I need you to do something for me, get a hold of Liara, she'll find a safe place for you and the kids. Don't come looking for me, I'll find you when I'm done.**_

_**With love and forgiveness,**_

_**~ your husband John.**_

_**Also, tell the Kids I love them and that I will be back.**_

He placed the note on the fridge under a magnet and quickly departed for the upstairs armory. Shepard pressed the keys on his armor closet's security pad and opened the white, metal doors. Shepard's Alliance Blue N7 armor lay in ready to equip pieces on the slide out table inside the closet. He had stopped using the Red standard armor when the war started, instead favoring the Hahne-Kedar armor painted black with a blue and white stripe.

He glanced at his combat omni-tool resting beside the armor. _'That must be where she got my specter code.' _thought Shepard as he slid his shirt and pants off, replacing them with his armor's striped under armor. Next he strapped on his chest armor, when Samantha Traynor stepped into the room.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" Asked the lesbian woman, leaning against the doorway.

"You can use the armor that I got for Kelly, you are going to need it." Shepard was now strapping on his greaves. Samantha gave him a confused look but walked over to the lighter, female set of armor resting inside the closet. "We're going to find Oleg."

"Oh..." Answered Samantha simply as she grabbed the form-fitting, alliance blue armor. "And you want me too?" She asked, semi-afraid of the answer.

"Go with me, you're good with computers right?" She nodded nervously as she started to slip into the armor. It fit tight over her breasts, causing her to push them uncomfortably into the chest plate. Kelly was obviously less... large. "Well, I'll need a hacker if I'm going to get to Oleg."

"Quick question." She inquired nervously. "Am I going to be fighting?" Shepard answered by tossing her a modified m-9 tempest after equipping his final piece of armor, a Kuwashii visor. "Well then... I guess its too late to call in sick."

"Good call." He tossed her an N-7 helmet with a re-breather mask to hide Samantha's identity then he left the room with his M-7 Lancer and M-3 Predator. "Meet me outside, there is something I need to do."

"Yes sir." Answered the woman departing for the front door. Shepard waited until she was gone before quietly stepping towards his daughters room. The lights were still off and the girl slept peacefully under her soft orange bed sheets.

He stepped into the room, careful to avoid the numerous spaceship models that littered the girl's room. Shepard approached the bed and watched his daughter sleep. "I'll be back." He whispered to his sleeping daughter. "Listen to your mother, I know you'll do me proud." He softly ran his armored hand through her hair and walked out of the room, sealing the door behind him.

"Off to save the galaxy Mr. Shepard?" Announced a young female voice from the stairway as he walked into the living room. He turned to see Rachel walking up to him wearing a loose Alliance jacket she must have gotten from her parents.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Said Shepard waiting for her to descend the steps.

"Can't sleep, are you going to find my Mom and Dad?" She asked stepping up to him.

"You overheard that?" she nodded sadly. Shepard now realized the girl had been crying. "Don't worry, I'll find them." Shepard reached into his armor and pulled off the two sets of dog tags he wore. One of them were Kaidan's, the friend he had let die on Vermire. He placed that pair over the girls neck. "My son is named after a friend I lost years ago, will you look after them for me?" She nodded. Next he had her hold out her hand and slipped his own set into her hand. "Give those to him in the morning, when he discovers I've left." Shepard departed without speaking, headed for the front door.

_**An:I know some people hate small chapters but this means I can write them faster, if anyone disagrees, please post it in a review and I might change the format. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.**_


	12. Chapter 12

The citadel was still in it's night cycle as the pair walked. "Shepard, are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Samantha through her helmet as they approached the Alliance docks. "What if I'm asked to remove my face plate or... or they want my identification?" The docking headquarters was just a few feet away now. Four security guards stood outside and it was making Traynor nervous.

"You'll be fine Sam, let me handle everything." Answered Shepard, slapping her on the back, causing her to pitch forward. "Just stick close and we'll be on the first shuttle out of here." She adjusted herself inside the tight armor and followed Shepard to the security check point.

"Admiral." Saluted the security guard, holding his assault rifle as if he was on parade. His blue armor shined brightly under the neon lights of the docking bay.

"At ease Sargent."

The soldier relaxed and set his rifle down against his desk. "What can I do for you sir?" He asked, eyeing Samantha.

"I need to requisition a shuttle." Answered Shepard, handing over his Alliance Identification.

"Very well." The soldier scanned his identification. "Now I will need your wife's." Shepard had completely forgotten that Kelly's name and rank had been imprinted onto the armor's right breast. "Sublieutenant Shepard?" Asked the guard. "I need your identification."

"Oh I'm sorry Sargent, she left it at home, is there any way you can just bypass this?" Asked Shepard, hoping the soldier wouldn't catch him lying. "We just want to go get our kids from there grandparents on Elysium."

"Sorry sir, can't do it without authorization." Shepard took out his omni-tool and override it with his specter code. _'I should get that code changed soon.' _He reminded himself. "That works Sir." Shepard was kicking himself for not doing that sooner. "Step inside and the requisition's officer will set you up with a shuttle." A loud beep sounded and the door adjacent to the security check point opened.

"Shall we Mrs. Shepard?" Joked Shepard as he motioned for them to enter. Samantha rolled her eyes. _Men... _"A few more minutes and we will be flying." Continued Shepard.

They found the requisition's officer and she led them to a Kodak shuttle inside the shuttle bay. Shepard had also requested a few extra items. Rations, extra uniforms for if they needed to go somewhere public, extra medi-gel and a mantis sniper rifle. The pair loaded the items into the rear crew compartment. Just as Samantha was about to close the hatch, Commissioner Bailey stepped onto the landing pad and had locked eyes on Traynor.

"Morning Admiral." Announced the elderly man. "Off to find who ever did this?" He stepped onto the shuttle to block the hatch from closing. "Kinda early in the morning ain't it?"

"Yes Bailey, I heard something about a rouge merc group on one of Thartion's moons." Lied Shepard, pulling Samantha into the cockpit and stepping in front of the C-sec officer. "Any new information?"

"No, just wanted to see you off." Bailey answered stepping back off the vessel. "Good seeing you Shepard." He was just about to leave when he said "tell Mrs Traynor that she needs to call the Asari councilor, she's worried." Then he walked down the dock's ramp toward a C-sec car that was waiting for him.

Shepard closed the hatch and entered the cockpit to join Samantha, who had already started to power the shuttles engines. "So... Liara?" Asked Shepard as he removed his assault rifle from his back, set it down on the ground and buckled himself into the shuttle's pilot seat.

"Yeah, we've been dating for a year or so now? Yeah, a year next week." Answered Samantha as she pulled off her helmet. Shepard was now guiding the shuttle out of the Alliance docks, toward the Mass Relay.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Asked Shepard as he cleared Zakerra ward.

"She wanted to keep it secret for a little while, let us work thinks out." She answered. "Although we're talking about moving in together, I have a little blue baby on the way." She seemed extremely exited. She said she would have shown Shepard a picture of the ultrasound but Shepard told her maybe later..

"We're on approach for the mass relay, it should be a few hours before we arrive at Ferros, that's where the Normandy was headed." Informed Shepard. "You can go change and take a nap if you want, I'll tell you when we get there, the relay seems a little busy. Observed Shepard, pointing out the numerous freighters waiting to enter the relay.

"Okay John." Yawned Traynor standing up from her seat. "Wake me up when we get there."

~~~•••~~~

The simulated morning light warmed the room as Kelly reached out to John on the couch only to realize he wasn't there, but she thought nothing of it. "Must have gone back to bed." She yawned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Kelly looked over at the adjacent couch, no Samantha either. Maybe she was asleep in another room.

Kelly pulled herself drowsily up off the couch. She entered the kitchen, bypassing the refrigerator and headed straight for the coffee pot. She switched it on then departed to take a shower and change into her work clothes. She saw a mass under the bed sheets in their room so she assumed it was Shepard, quietly she slipped into the shower.

After her warm, and very relaxing shower she headed back downstairs to grab a mug of was wearing a standard green Alliance jumpsuit, the usual outfit for the civilian corps. She nearly dropped her mug as she noticed the note. Within seconds she knew without reading the note, what it would say. He and Traynor had left to go find the Normandy. After reading the note her suspicions were confirmed. In addition he wanted her to take the kids and leave? To call Liara and ask her to effectively place them under whiteness protection.

She knew that her husband was right but it still had a sour taste in her mouth, she felt like she was running from her problems. She grabbed the note off the fridge and placed it in her pocket.

"Good morning Mom, what's for breakfast?" Asked Kasha as she flung her yellow backpack onto the table.

"Morning honey, can you do me a favor and go find Rachel and your brother." Requested Kelly. "We need to leave." The girl gave her a confused look. "I don't have time to explain, just do as I say." Kelly waited until her daughter had left before she took out her omni-tool. She typed out a message to liara.

_Sent to: Liara T'soni_

_Subject: Shepard._

_Liara, John said you could get me and the kids off the Citadel. Please message me back, if it was just me it wouldn't be important, but I have three kids to think about._

_~Kelly Chambers-Shepard._

Kasha came back with her older brother and Rachel. "Morning Mom." Yawned the redheaded boy as he stretched awake. "What's the hurry? Schools not for a few hours."

"Go pack your suit cases, we're leaving." Kelly's omni-tool bleeped, shoeing she had just received a message, probably from Liara.

"Where are we going Ma'am?" Asked Rachel spinning the dog-tag around her neck, between her fingers.

Kelly recognized the dog-tags around Rachel's neck but didn't know who's they were. _'Ashley must have given her them, maybe they're General William's'. _Dismissed Kelly. "John wants us to find somewhere safer to be until he returns." She explained. "Now, go get dressed and packed, we are leaving A.S.A.P."

The three teenagers disappeared to go fetch their clothes and shower. Kelly turned on her omni-tool and opened Liara's message.

_Sent to: Kelly Chambers-Shepard_

_Subject: Elysium_

_I set to work trying to find a refuge for you and the kids, the safest place I could find for you four was Elysium, I'm sure Shepard has mentioned it to you before._

_Anyways, there will be a C-sec shuttle waiting to take you there within the next hour outside your apartment. _

_~With respect Liara T'soni._

_P.s. I know what you're going through, I assume he took Samantha with him. I will check up on you when possible and keep you up to date on Shepard._

Kelly doubted the asari truly understood what she was going through but didn't have the time to think about it, she took off for her bedroom to pack her suitcase... and grab one of Shepard's pistols.

_**An: I don't know weather its good or bad being waken up by my phone because of a new review email, but I'll take it. Any criticism helps... as long as its constructive, please review**_


	13. Chapter 13

Samantha was jolted awake after the Kodiak exited the mass relay. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and groggily stumbled into the cockpit. "How long was I out?" She asked as she set her helmet on top of her controls.

"Just a couple hours, you doing okay?" Shepard readied the shuttles FTL engines so they could get to their destination faster, moments later the stars around them blurred and a glossy aura surrounded the ship as they speed past an asteroid belt.

"Just a little tired, sleep deprivation will do that to you." Samantha looked at her reflection in her visor. She ran her fingers under her baggy eyes and watched her own tired expression before looking back out the window. "Is that Eden Prime? I thought you said we were going to Ferros."

"First we are going to ask a friend of mine for some help." Shepard switched on the shuttle's transmitter. "She knows more about Cerberus operations than anyone else." He dialed his friends contact frequency.

A moment later a woman answered. "Lawson residence, who am I speaking to?"

"Hay Miranda, it's Shepard. Do you have some time to talk about-"

"Cerberus? Does this have anything to do with the Normandy's disappearance?"

"I didn't know news moved so quickly to areas this remote." Commented Shepard. "Could we talk about this once we land?"

"Of course Shepard. I'll meet you at the Alliance docks." Miranda abruptly ended the call allowing Shepard to next contact the Eden Prime port authority.

"This is Admiral Shepard requesting permission to land." He stated flatly over the com as he brought the shuttle into the atmosphere.

"Roger that Admiral, we have an open landing bay, just give me a moment... alright, bay twelve is ready to receive you." Said an alliance officer over the shuttles speakers. "We look forward to your arrival." Then the call also ended.

Shepard turned his head toward Samantha. "You had better put that helmet back on, at least until we leave again."

Traynor didn't dispute his logic and pulled the helmet over her head and turned on its sun-shield to cover the portion of her face that could be seen. "Why do we need to land? Couldn't we just have asked her from orbit?"

"We're landing because I'm going to ask her to come with us, she understands Cerberus's tactics.

* * *

><p>Kelly sighed as she followed the three teenagers onto the freighter. The strap of her suitcase dug uncomfortably into her shoulder as she walked. She was worried about Shepard. "John<em>, please come home." <em>She whispered to herself before taking a seat in the last row of the passenger seats. Kaidan and Rachel sat in the row in front of her like she had told them.

_ "_What did you say Mom?" Asked Kasha, stuffing her backpack under her seat.

"Nothing... nothing." Kelly answered after a few moments. "Just thinking about your fath-"

Her sentence was cut short by a tall man with bright yellow sun on his armor accidentally knocking into her. "I'm so sorry miss, this armor is just so darn bulky." He grinned cheerfully.

Kelly had never trusted mercenaries, they were usually racist, thieving pirates that only sought to fill their own pockets but this man seemed to be seriously apologetic. "Its fine." She said calmly but keeping the bag that held her pistol within reach. Eclipse mercenaries didn't have a connection to Cerberus but she couldn't be to cautious. "Looks like we're about to take off, better go take your seat." The man looked back at the rows of seats ahead of him then back at her before nodding and taking a seat three rows in front of her.

_**An: wow, its been a while. Please review and help me decide how to improve the story, I have listened to the idea to include more characters and I'm trying**_


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